Press for Emergency Ventilation
by sanctum-c
Summary: Cloud dies at Hojo's hands after his capture at Nibelheim. Then he is left with the question: now what?


_Written for Nautilusopus's birthday on tumblr:_

* * *

Pain seemed to be all Cloud knew from the moment he threw Sephiroth into the mako pool. If only he could have stayed awake in the aftermath. If only Hojo had not captured him. If only- Cloud clenched his teeth as his head bent back on the operating table and he grunted with pain. Press for Emergency Ventilation. The sign was upside down and familiar, but it was all he had in these moments, his sole distraction. Press for Emergency Ventilation. His arms strained against the restraints as Hojo cut deeper, or pulled or- The sensations were not delineated; it was simply pain.

When this began the man gloated how he had little belief in anaesthetics and demonstrated that stance on his body every day since. Perhaps the only way he still hung on this long was thanks to the SOLDIER process; painful in its own way, but little more than a drop in the ocean compared to what came next. Little more than a prelude to what Hojo had in store; the scientist trusted his healing factor to keep him alive and his body whole no matter what he did to it in the meantime.

How long could he endure this? Cloud's eyes had closed at some sensation or other and tears ran down his cheeks. He forced his eyes open. Press for emergency ventilation. He read it again. Hojo moved and a strangled shriek burst from Cloud's clenched jaw. Somehow, Hojo had discovered a whole new way to hurt him. No. Something else was happening. That burst of pain faded and took the agony of his previous injuries with it.

A deep, cool, pleasant sensation enveloped him. Hojo swore and fumbled with his torturous implements. "No. No, no." He loomed above Cloud, oddly panicked contrasted with the calm that filled him now. "You can't-" Hojo hissed and went to work on Cloud's torso. His head was too heavy to lift. What was he doing?

Cloud could not feel his legs. Hojo's actions were distant pulls and jabs, his lab coat soaked with blood. Whatever he was doing, it did not seem to involve Cloud anymore. His eyes grew heavy and he let them fall closed even as Hojo demanded he stay awake. He was beyond Hojo's reach; at long last. Cloud smiled as he plunged into the darkness.

* * *

Cloud opened his eyes. All dark here. Was he still lying on that same operating table? His body was numb and all the pain was gone. As was Hojo. A moment to enjoy the absence of pain. When was the last time he ever felt so… good? No. No, that was not quite right. He did not feel good, he felt an absence of pain. Every other awakening came complete with stabs of pain from not quite healed muscles and flesh, fear and loathing of what he would suffer now he was awake once more. Here there was nothing.

He lifted his head; effortless. The movement dispelled the darkness; he was still in the lab. But he had been under a sheet? Odd he had not felt anything- The restraints were gone; or at least he could not feel them against his wrists. He sat up- Through a white sheet covering something body-shaped beneath.

His arms and hands were pale and translucent. He tried to lift his legs, but only caught a flicker of something emerging from the sheet. Cloud hopped off of the table. And stopped. His feet never touched the floor. They appeared to be missing. And yet he was not falling to the ground. In place of his legs was a tapering mass of translucency. He had left his body behind him; that was likely him lying covered in a sheet. The sight should have induced a reaction; horror, shock, sadness? The emotions did not come.

Now what?

Something seemed to tug at him. An urge to go to some distant point above him. Resistible for now – was that the way to whatever was next? Whatever was after death? Exploration first. He tried the door, his hands slipping through the handle with only a tacky feeling of resistance. Easier to push against the obstacle until he passed through. Not much to see here. Wherever here was. A corridor carved out of rock. Recognition then; this was the Shinra mansion. He pushed through the locked door set into one wall. A room of coffins; most occupied by skeletons and one by a pale man in a red cloak. Somehow he was still breathing.

"Hi," Cloud said.

The pale man did not reply. So much for that plan. In another room filled the books, Cloud found two tubes of mako; a man floated in one of these. Zack was still alive. Despite his attempts, Zack could not hear him either.

What now? Life after death was not something he had devoted much thought to, but this was would not have been something he expected. A trip up above ground failed to locate any other ghosts meandering around Nibelheim. That was in addition to Nibelheim looking as if the firestorm sparked by Sephiroth had never occurred. And still that incessant tugging came, the urge to travel up to the tip of Mount Nibel. Ah. So that was it.

Crossing the mountain would mean he would leave this world behind him. His younger self had been correct when he regarded the mountain as the border of the world. He knew of course there was somewhere else beyond the mountain. But knowing – or rather adults telling him – it was true was not the same as seeing it. For all he knew it was an open secret amongst adults. Perhaps the world did end just beyond the mountain.

No. No he could not go there yet. Not while Zack was still in Hojo's clutches. He owed him something; the man had tried to help as much as he could. Tried to keep him talking even while he suffered in agony after Hojo's latest vivisection. Would Zack ever be okay?

Cloud spent two years testing the limits of his effect on the world and the limitations of his movements. The mountain remained a place he avoided, but he tried venturing out from the town to see the world beyond it. Movement became increasingly difficult the further he travelled until he could go no further. Something kept him tethered to within a few miles of Mount Nibel. Or maybe something tied him to the town? Impossible to say – and no one here to advise him.

After returning, Cloud entertained himself by moving Hojo's equipment around. Nudging pens onto the floor, spilling the contents of a shelf onto a bench full of glassware. Even the smallest nudge took a huge amount of effort, and Hojo only ever looked at best unsure why things fell or moved. Cloud pushed the button below the Press for Emergency Ventilation sign; with a roar a powerful fan sucked the air from the chamber.

Hojo left the mansion after a while, and with him went the urge to head for the tip of the mountain. Now something tugged him from the town. The same or something else? Had he missed the opportunity the mountain presented and now suffered a new fate? No matter. He would go to the mountain eventually to be sure. Zack managed to get free not long after Hojo left; Cloud went with him, hovering invisible beside him as Zack ran from the town. If he at least got away then Cloud would be- Not exactly happy, but- But Zack should live even if he did not. That certainty of his friend's safety ought to sate the odd yearning inside.

He kept Zack company for a time, waiting for the strain to become too great and leave him within the boundary of the town as his friend carried on. The moment never came; when they reached Cosmo Canyon Cloud began to rethink his limitations. There was more of the world to see here; his last trip in reverse and slower. More scenic as Zack remained off-road and Cloud never strayed far from him.

As with that strange pale man, Cloud could not get Zack to hear him. His companion said little as they travelled, murmuring to himself on occasions. The few times Zack did talk to himself were odd assurances that his reasons for returning to Midgar made sense; that he knew why he was going back. Curious. A few close calls with Shinra troops saw Cloud trying to call out advice to Zack or a distraction to his enemies, but it never worked. No one heard him, but at least Zack survived so far.

* * *

Zack lay riddled with bullets in sight of his goal – a few miles to the south of Midgar. There was nothing Cloud could do for him now. He might be able to give his friend a decent burial if he took the enormous amount of time it wound need to move his body or dig a grave. Nowhere suitable in sight at least. How far back to the mountain now? The return would take so long and he would be alone – and assuming he could find his way. Ahead was Midgar and the newer impulse to head towards it.

The groan came out of nowhere; was Zack alive? Had he somehow survived? A translucent form sat up from the body on the ground and glanced around. "I thought I-" Zack stopped and stared down at his body.

"Sorry," Cloud murmured. That got the other man's attention.

"Cloud?" Zack stared at him. "I thought you-" He blinked. "Oh."

"Yeah." Cloud shrugged as Zack floated up beside him. "I'm not sure what I'm meant to do. I think I was supposed to be going up Mount Nibel. But now it's like I need to go to Midgar."

"Been feeling like that for a while," Zack murmured.

"At least we can talk."

"I guess." Zack glanced around. "What now though?"

Another shrug. "I guess we could keep going. I kept you company this far. Should we visit Midgar?"

"Yeah." Zack lead them below the plate and to Sector Five. "My former girlfriend is here. I should be sure she's safe before-" He glanced up towards the centre of the city. Towards whatever tugged them incessantly. That pull grew more and more intense as they came closer to it. Cloud told Zack about the mountain; conversely to him Zack felt no urge to travel towards it. Was it something else? Not where they should go? Something to consider later. For now they kept an eye on Zack's ex – a woman name Aeris. Somehow she grew flowers in Midgar, sold them on the streets, avoided the Turks and did the same all over again day after day. She lived her life and got on with it. "How long do we keep this up?" Zack asked.

Cloud shrugged. Aeris seemed happy enough but never heard the goodbyes Zack directed to her. She eventually found her way to Sector Seven and met Tifa Lockhart of all people; the girl he once promised to rescue (should she need him) if he joined SOLDIER. She had also survived the destruction of Nibelheim and his attempt to rescue her had at least worked. Seemed like she had forgotten him though – and how had she avoided Hojo's clutches? No matter.

Aeris and Tifa seemed to hit it off increasingly well; their first kiss was reason enough for Zack to leave Aeris to live her life. She was happy and that was enough for him. Cloud apologised to Tifa for his marginal success in rescuing her. Like Aeris she never heard him. With a last look at the now happy couple, both Cloud and Zack ascended to the Shinra tower in search of their ultimate fate.

* * *

Why did this life after death revolve around the Jenova body - a headless corpse in a bio-hazard container in Hojo's lab? Why – if this was what had always been drawing him to it – were there no other people like them waiting endlessly as he and Zack now were? Not even Sephiroth who surely must have perished before Cloud? Unless he had found the way to pass on from this twilight life of course. Why was the thing that shared a name with Sephiroth's mother here too? Questions no one answered no matter how long they listened to Hojo and those in his lab.

Now they were so close to Jenova the tugging diminished for some reason and aside from the odd whispering, almost singing voice creeping into the back of their thoughts, nothing changed. Was that Jenova? Perhaps. A mystery solved and- Now what? Potentially they could try to force their way out beyond a new presumed boundary existence but to what end? Attempt to find their way back to Nibelheim to cross the mountain? An possible next move but- Cloud mentioned he used to annoy Hojo in the lab, and for want of a better idea Zack suggested they resume. Easier to shift objects working in tandem. And every successful nuisance, breakage, lost report, lost sample and mishap made Hojo that little bit angrier. The man deserved everything he got. But no matter what they did, it was never quite enough. Worse would this be all they did for the rest of time?

They should do something. Anything. And perhaps there was a way out of this limited existence. On the console beside Jenova's container was a glass panel with a button labelled 'Incinerate' beneath it. Too difficult to trigger themselves (glass was more resistant to their touch), but one of the living could. If they could be rid of Jenova, then perhaps they could at last cross the mountain and move on. A plan then; trick Hojo into destroying Jenova. They started by moving small objects he needed, always bringing Hojo back to that same console, always making him a little angrier with the choice and how critical it was to his work. A steady build-up of nuisances and an increase of the times he swore and stomped around the lab. But still not quite enough.

They needed something more; an accident to distract Hojo from what he was doing. Between them Cloud and Zack managed to spill two chemicals onto the floor and sent a reeking plume smoke into the air right beside Jenova's tank. Hojo panicked rushed to protect his samples; he checked over the console. On it was a new button: Press for Emergency Ventilation, now placed over the top of the glass panel with the button for incineration. Hojo slammed his fist down onto it. The scientist rarely seemed shocked by anything that happened, but as flames enveloped Jenova he screamed in horror. The singing in the back of Cloud's mind faltered and stopped as the searing fire consumed Jenova. Hojo pried uselessly at the panel and the button as the world darkened around Cloud. He managed a final thumbs up to Zack as the light faded and he sank into the babbling voices of the green place.


End file.
